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Braves nominated for a bevy of GIBBY Awards

Braves nominated for a bevy of GIBBY Awards

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Must C: Chipper 2:22

9/2/12: Chipper Jones completes the Braves' rally in the ninth with a three-run, walk-off homer off Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon

By Mark Bowman
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MLB.com |

ATLANTA -- As Chipper Jones was bidding adieu to his legendary career in impressive fashion, Kris Medlen was providing indication that he has a very bright future as a starting pitcher. Their accomplishments highlighted a memorable 2012 season in Atlanta.

Jones and Medlen are just two of the members of the Braves' organization who have received nominations for this year's Greatness in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) Awards. The club's other nominees include general manager Frank Wren, manager Fredi Gonzalez, Jason Heyward, Michael Bourn, Freddie Freeman, Eric O'Flaherty and Andrelton Simmons.

Major League Baseball's A-listers will take home 2012 GIBBYs trophies -- the ultimate honors of the sport's awards season -- based on votes by media, front-office personnel, MLB alumni, fans at MLB.com and the Society for American Baseball Research.

GIBBY trophies also will be awarded for the year's top play, storyline, hitting performance, pitching performance, oddity, walk-off, Cut4 topic and postseason moment, from MLB.com's Must C highlight reels.

In the past four years, you the fans have cast more than 40 million votes across the various GIBBYs categories, none of which were restricted to individual League affiliation.

You can vote as many times as you want until fan balloting closes Sunday, Dec. 2, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Winners will be presented their GIBBY trophies at the MLB.com Greatness in Baseball Yearly Awards extravaganza during the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday, Dec. 4.

Medlen has been nominated for both the Starting Pitcher of the Year and the Breakout Pitcher of the Year Awards. After spending this season's first four months in the bullpen, Medlen made an incredible transition to the starting rotation. He went 9-0 with a 0.97 ERA in 12 starts.

The Braves have won each of his past 23 starts dating back to before he underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2010 season. This is the longest streak any club has had with one pitcher in Major League history.

Jones' farewell has been nominated for the Storyline of the Year and the second of the walk-off homers he hit against the Phillies is nominated for Walk-Off of the Year. The former National League Most Valuable Player, as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, enjoyed one of the most productive farewell tours a player could ever imagine.

Jones homered in his first game, again on his 40th birthday and twice on his bobblehead night. He enjoyed a five-hit game and singled in his final at-bat in an All-Star Game. But his finest moment came on Sept. 2, when he capped a five-run ninth inning with a three-run walk-off home run off Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon. It proved to be the last of his 468 career home runs.

Also nominated for Walk-Off of the Year is the walk-off homer Freddie Freeman hit to clinch the NL Wild Card berth for the Braves on Sept. 25.

O'Flaherty has been nominated as the Setup Man of the Year. While setting up for the dominant Craig Kimbrel, O'Flaherty posted a 0.26 ERA and limited opponents to a .193 batting average in his final 39 appearances. He has combined for a 1.31 ERA in 142 appearances the past two seasons.

Gonzalez has been nominated for the Manager of the Year Award after guiding the Braves to the playoffs one year after enduring an epic September collapse. He showed his willingness to make tough decisions when he occasionally sat Dan Uggla and Brian McCann as they struggled down the stretch.

Wren has been nominated as the game's Executive of the Year. Instead of overhauling the club after the 2011 collapse, he essentially kept his team intact and made adjustments when necessary this year while working with tight financial constraints. Along with acquiring left-hander Paul Maholm and outfielder Reed Johnson from the Cubs just before the non-waiver Trade Deadline, he made some shrewd under-the-radar moves. One of the season's key developments came when he acquired sure-handed shortstop Paul Janish after Andrelton Simmons broke his hand.

Simmons' diving stab of Adam Jones' hot shot on June 18 is nominated for the Play of the Year.

Bourn and Heyward are both nominated for the Defensive Player of the Year. Heyward led all Major League outfielders with a 22.9 UZR (ultimate zone rating) and Bourn ranked second with a 22.4.

Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.